This is me

Do you ever look at yourself in the mirror and wonder who it is that is staring back at you?

When I stand in front of the mirror each morning I gaze at the black circles and bags under my eyes. I pinch and pull at them hoping that they will straighten out like creases in the bed sheets – they don’t. In fact, a few early nights and Piglet not waking in the night would be the only miracle cure for them.

As I get dressed into my signature dark jeans and stripy top, I pull it down to disguise my mummy tummy. Standing there I am aware that whilst I weigh less than I did when I fell pregnant with Piglet, my body shape has changed. There are still so many pounds for me to lose in order to feel comfortable with myself. Maybe then I will address my mummy wardrobe and dress a little more out of my comfort zone.

I don’t like to have my photo taken, always joking that I am the one who takes them. The reality is that when my children come to look back on days out and family holidays it will be as though I was never there. No photos of me for them to look back on, just the ones of them and Mr. Boo enjoying themselves. This became apparent as I was looking for some photos for a project and struggled to find anything recent of myself.

Getting over my fear of looking appalling in photographs I decided to make sure that there is at least one photo of me whenever we go out together. Roo is a very big helper in this department and is happy to take the camera and snap away. Whilst I look at the photos with criticism for my mummy tummy, my dark uninspiring wardrobe and the bags under my eyes. My children look at them and see me, their mum and that is all that truly matters.

6 Comments

I know exactly how you feel Sarah. I am trying to take more photos with me and the children now as I never appeared to be on any of their days out either. I don’t always like what I see but hopefully in time I will get back to a version of myself I am happier with and I know you will too x

Hilda Wright

January 23, 2017 / 8:41 am

Hello you! I think you just have to accept yourself how you are, after the ‘mummy’ phase passes you have to start to accept the signs of aging. When I look back at my 20s after my son was born I realise I should have appreciated myself more the way I was. All the things you describe are familiar to me, just have to keep things in perspective and get on with loving life!

It horrid how you feel the same inside but when you look in the mirror you are getting older. You look lovely, you should have more photos of yourself. It is the same with me and photos, there are hardly any of me. I must get more taken for my son